The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to BSP MP from Ghosi Lok Sabha seat Atul Rai on health grounds in a criminal case registered under the Gangsters Act in Varanasi in 2021.
“It appears that the illness of the applicant is chronic and that the applicant is suffering from said ailments for a long time. His condition appears alarming and, thus, he requires proper treatment,” Justice Raj Beer Singh said in his order allowing Rai’s bail plea on Monday.
It was submitted that a total of 24 criminal cases were registered against the MP and, out of them, the applicant has already been acquitted in 12 cases and is on bail in the rest of them.
The applicant’s counsel claimed that the medical condition of the applicant “is quite serious and his condition is deteriorating day by day”.
However, the state government counsel opposed the plea, arguing that the applicant “has a long criminal history of 24 cases”.
This criminal history “starts way back from the year 2009. Thus it could not be said that the said cases were imposed during the present government,” the counsel said.
The counsel said the applicant is continuously being provided required treatment.
“The allegation that the applicant is not being provided proper treatment during his detention due to political reasons is false,” said the government counsel.
The court while allowing the bail application observed, “Medical reports indicate that the applicant is suffering from Coccydynia with Spondyloarthritis with low backache with PIVD (Prolapsed Intervertebral Disc), high BP, high bleeding, Vertigo and Nausea.”
“As per the latest report dated August 3, 2023, the applicant was shown suffering from ‘phaeo chromocytoma/ paraganglioma’ and he was referred to AIIMS, New Delhi on an urgent basis for treatment,” said the court.
The court then observed, “It appears that the illness of the applicant is chronic and that the applicant is suffering from said ailments for a long time and his condition appears alarming.”
The court also observed that the applicant has already undergone the detention of about one year and nine months and only three witnesses have been examined so far. “Thus, the trial of the case is likely to take sufficiently long time in conclusion,” it said.
The judgment was reserved on August 11 and was delivered on August 28.
Earlier, on March 3, the first bail application of Rai was rejected by the high court. This was the second bail application moved by Rai.
